


Voicemail

by canterofmysinnings



Series: Barlliams Songfic Challenge 2018-2020+ [3]
Category: Take That
Genre: Angst with an open/neutral ending, Digital Stalking, Emotional Abuse, Fatphobic insults, Heavy Angst, Heavy Swearing, Heavy insults, Honestly a bit cliche this one, Hospitalisation, Illness from drug use, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, M/M, Medical intervention, Police intervention, Post Take That split AU, References to Depression, Slurred speech, Verbal Abuse, Voice Mail Abuse, supportive friendships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-16
Updated: 2020-09-16
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:42:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26494330
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/canterofmysinnings/pseuds/canterofmysinnings
Summary: Shortly after Take That's split, Robbie starts stalking Gary many times a day via Voicemail. He leaves the most insulting, disturbing messages for Gary. Gary, already in a state of deep depression, moves in with the rest of the Take That guys to cope.With help from Mark, Jason and Howard, they eventually call the police on Robbie after one of Robbie's dangerous parties.
Relationships: Gary Barlow/Robbie Williams
Series: Barlliams Songfic Challenge 2018-2020+ [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1926196
Kudos: 1





	Voicemail

**Author's Note:**

> This part 3 of my Transfer from Wattpad series, as well as my year-long Barlliams Songfic challenge.  
> Originally published at: 28/05/2018  
> Originally inspired by the song: Ego A Go Go

April 1996.  
Due to recent events and a really nasty breakup with his band Take That, Gary felt burned out.  
His quality of life was wearing thin, and he felt like he became increasingly depressed for each day that passed since the split a couple of months ago.  
After the public split announcement, Gary had felt panic for days. He couldn't believe how big a part of his life he just had lost.  
Finally, after a week of considering his future, he decided to move in with Mark, Howard and Jason. They found a secret hideaway in town and rented it with their fortune from the many tours.  
Gary felt quite safe there, but he wasn't ready to move in just yet; first he had to go back to his old house to pick up important personal belongings and pack it all into one of the two cars he and his former bandmates shared together.  
Gary thought of everything that had happened between Robbie and him as he pulled up his car and parked it next to his house. He still had a few hours left before the new buyers arrived.

Gary emptied his mailbox into a black trash bag. By now he knew that there was nothing worthwhile to be read in there; all the letters had Robbie's handwriting and were obviously hate mail from him.  
Robbie knew this address, but not his new, secret one.  
Gary sighed loudly and let himself into his old house. His footsteps echoed throughout the house as the walls and floors were completely stripped for furniture to soak up the sound.  
He had given away the furniture to family, friends and local people in need of new chairs or tables.  
Not a single ting to witness that Gary had ever lived there.  
As he walked through the rooms to double check it all, it dawned on him that he'd forgot to remove a telephone upstairs. The telephone was still plugged in, and the voice mail next to it as well.  
Gary walked closer, inspecting the phone suspiciously. He then proceeded to turn on the voice mail.

_You have 27 new messages._ A robotic, womanly voice said.

_"Crap,"_ Gary thought to himself. _"I bet that is Robbie who has chimed me down with hate."_

Gary pressed on a voice mail button to hear the messages.   
And just as ne had expected, Robbie's voice cut through. The hate and defiance in Robbie's voice was so thick it intimidated Gary in an instant.

" _Hi, Gary."_ Robbie said. Gary felt chills roll down his spine.   
_"You might be wondering why I'm calling you like this. Well, it's pretty simple actually. I don't think you deserve me meeting you personally to insult you._  
 _Because, you see... You're like a fat, dumb bitch, Gary. Lying around all day, doing nothing. And as you do nothing, you have the audacity to hush your bandmates around like they are your bloody servants._  
 _Sadly, you're mistaken. I don't know what the other knobheads are up to... HAHA, I don't care anyway... But rest assured Gary, I am not yours to be toyed around with. I think it's about time I knocked that fact into your little head because you are far too dumb to realise that yourself."_

The words stabbed Gary directly into his heart as he heard Robbie belittle him and his bandmates so gruefully. All this time he'd thought that he and Robbie and the others had a special connection. Apparently, everything he had thought about Robbie was a lie.

Gary had to sit down for a while as the painful memories returned.   
For his inner eye he saw hate letters, hate mails and hate calls from Robbie. He envisioned how Robbie must have spat of anger directly into the phone.   
Eventually he came to his senses and decided to take the phone with him back to the boys to show them the evidence.

**Back at his new place with Mark, Jason and Howard:**

Back home, Mark greeted a very unsettled Gary.   
"Hiya Gary, good to see you back!" Mark beamed.   
"Do tell, do you want a cuppa? Is' a new brew, just in!"  
Gary did not respond to Mark's positivity. He almost threw the black trash bag onto the floor as he removed his shoes in the hallway of the house.   
Mark noticed by now that something was wrong.   
"Ey, Gary... Why so gloomy though? What's wrong... And what's in that bag?"   
Gary stared lifelessly at Mark. "Mate, you'll see. Follow me into the living room, will ya?"

**Later, in the living room**

All the four guys were reunited around the dinner table in the living room. Gary had sorted out the complete evidence he had received since he stopped living in the house. There were letters, pictures, and of course Robbie's haunting voice mails.   
All four men were grave silent as they listened to more of Robbie's voice mails, which seemed to escalate in profanity and violence the newer the voice mail.

_"You might not know this, Gary Barlow. But since the first day I met you, I always knew that someday you would turn on me. And now I know for a fact that you are incapable of loving anyone without turning on them. You have a twisted mind indeed, Gary, and whatever you do, you can't stop destroying everything you touch and everyone you love. You are a walking disaster in a sweet demeanour, and people hardly know what they're getting into when they decide they like you. Doesn't it haunt you, Barlow? The fact that you're such a two-faced, grandiose b-"_

Mark pressed the pause button.   
He looked at Gary with such a sad expression that Gary felt psychically ill by the mental pressure of the situation.   
Howard crossed his arms and stood up, pacing the room restlessly.   
"Gary. You should go to the police with this!" He thundered. "This checks every box for harassment! No way you should put up with this, even when you're a five star celebrity!"   
Jason quietly nodded, still sitting at his chair.   
"Just because you're the top of the pops, doesn't mean we automatically are immune to hate! It hurts! And rightfully so. You should turn it in and let Robbie face the music. He needs to know that there are consequences for this."  
Howard added.   
Jason nodded once again, and Mark joined in on the agreement.   
Gary cupped his face in his hands.   
"Okay, I get it. But I'm not sure I'm ready to drag him into court."  
Howard made a disgusted face at Gary. "What do you mean you're not ready? He has destroyed your life! Look at you, Robbie has forced you out of your own damn home! What once was a safe place for you has become a war zone! Do you really want this, Gary? Don't you want justice to be settled?" Howard rolled his eyes.   
Gary looked down in embarrassment. "Look, I don't think you get it, Howard. It's more complicated than it seems..." Gary was so affected he started to cry. He tried everything to hide his tears, but they were heavy and as they streamed down his throat they trickled into his nose too and made it hard for him to breathe, causing him to inhale deeply as he succumbed to the tears.

Mark shook his head at Howard and looked at Jason.   
"Jason, pst. Will you please be a gent and escort Howard outside for a bit? I don't think Gary can deal with criticism right now." Mark looked softly at Jason.   
Jason obliged to the request and got up from his chair. "Alright. Hope he's not been too hard on you mate," Jason spoke quietly and followed Howard out of the room.

Mark dimmed the light in the room in an attempt to calm Gary's nerves.   
Gary seemed to appreciate it, as his sobs calmed down a bit.   
Mark sat down next to Gary and held him until he felt better.   
"Do you still care for Robbie, Gary?" Mark asked him gently.   
Gary sniffed, his eyes red from crying. "I care a lot about Robbie. I don't know what's wrong with me. What's wrong with _us_."

"I see." Mark sympatised with Gary.   
The smaller man's calmness eventually soothed Gary enough for him to think clearly again.   
In that very moment, Jason walked into the room again. He seemed oddly... Thoughtful.   
"Jason, what's on your mind?" Mark asked.  
  
"Guys." Jason sat down next to Mark and Gary where Howard had sat earlier;   
"I think I figured out something important."

"Is that so?" Gary asked suspiciously. "What is that?"   
Jason pulled the voice mail machine towards him. Flicking through the messages, he found the latest one from this morning.   
"In this voice mail," Jason explained, "Robbie reveals something pretty critical about where he's supposed to be today, his location. And I have a feeling that it's pretty important for you to know- I have a feeling that in his state of mind, what he has planned can have big consequences for his, yeah his life and wellbeing."

"Huh. Pardon me one moment."  
Gary pressed play, mentally getting himself ready for another shitstorm. And sure, Robbie's angry voice appeared again:

"Good morning Gary, or should I call you 'bag of shit'. Oh boy, I do have great news for you.   
I'm going to my first ever party tonight since I left Take That. It will be a blast I tell you, especially since I don't have you around anymore to hold me back. You've always been such a sissy at parties. 'Oh Robbie, take care!' 'Oh Robbie this and that'! I am calling you to tell you that tonight, this will be no more. I'm messin' with the big boys tonight, Gary. The best part is it all is that nobody is going to stop me. I'm going to have coke, spirits, loud music and real friends' company - pretty much everything I never had with you! So bye bye Barlow!"

A long beep tone followed.   
Jason silently pressed stop and put the voice mail box to the side.   
"So, what do we do now?" He asked Mark and Gary.   
Gary remained emotionless.   
Mark seemed to have got an idea.   
"You guys, I just remembered that my friend Dave lives a couple of houses away. Dave happens to be high-ranked in the police career. So what if you, Gary, and Dave looked for him? Do you have any idea about where the party might be taking place?"   
Gary thought for a moment. "Yeah, I'd say I have a pretty good idea about where he is right now. I know those things by heart, although we've fallen out."  
"Perfect!" Mark said as he had regained his optimism.   
"So, can I call Dave for you, Gaz?" Mark asked.   
Gary nodded approvingly. "Go ahead."

**Later, on the pavement in front of Robbie's block:**

Dave parked the police car carefully and turned to Gary. "You recognise that block yeah?"   
Gary peaked out of the black-tinted windows and nodded as he recognised Robbie's flat. Robbie, being the true chaotic personality type, always had Lord knows how many wet towels out to dry on the balcony.   
"Yeah, Chief," he said. "That's it."

Chief Dave gestured Gary to get out of the car and follow him.   
As they took the stairs towards Robbie's flat, the music became louder and it became evident that multiple of Robbie's neighbours were severely annoyed at the noise.   
Chief Dave calmed the people down and told them politely to go back to their flats and to let him to his job. Meanwhile, Gary looked around for any clues about Robbie's friends. Nothing was to be seen, though.   
"Erm, Mr. Barlow." Chief Dave called out. "I'm going to disrupt the party now. Please stay outside until I have everything under control, alright?"   
"Alright, Chief." Gary agreed.

Chief Dave proceeded to pound on the door loudly. "Open up please, it's the Manchester Police Department! If you do not open up the door, we will break it in!"

Gary noticed that the Chief's shouting attracted a lot of concerned neighbours. Gary clenched his teeth in anxiety and tried to hide away behind a corner. Being spotted next to a policeman breaking into another celebrity's flat seemed to be an exceptionally bad idea.

At first nothing happened, but then the music stopped as male voices inside shouted back and forth.   
The door was unlocked, and a blonde guy stepped out. "Hello Chief Dave, how can I help you?"   
Chief Dave saw right through the blonde's bullshit.   
"I received a report from a civilian this afternoon that a party held in this flat would involve bothersome music and possibly illegal drugs. Would you kindly step aside? Don't worry. If you do not protest, no charges will be held against you." Chief Dave said cooly.

The blonde guy let the Chief in, and he disappeared into the room. Shortly after, Gary heard an audible thud from Robbie's flat and then groaning and unintelligible blubbering, as if a person just fell down from a sofa.   
Gary heard Chief Dave emergency call for additional units, and soon a group of emergency police staff arrived. Gary almost had a panic attack when he realised his serious this was and what Robbie had gotten himself into.

Shortly after, Chief Dave called out for him.   
"Hey, Mr. Barlow?" He said. "We at MCDP don't usually include civilians in our police work, but considering the victim in this case... You might want to take a look inside."

Gary's heart almost stopped as he stepped into the party scene.   
A very strong smell of alcohol and drugs hit him.   
Pills and empty bottles were scattered around the kitchen and living room. A while powder had been strewn all over Robbie's purple sofa. Gary's heart skipped multiple beats now as he noticed the twitching body on the floor. It was a topless, black haired man. Footprints were to be found on his trousers, as if high party guests had attempted to step on him. 

Gary breathlessly watched as medical staff carefully removed the body from the floor.   
Whenever the man's face was revealed, Gary felt strongly nauseous and sensed starts for his eyes.   
Watching his former friend in such a horrible condition overwhelmed him with a strong sense of urgent empathy, as if their bodies were one and the same.  
Medical staff were about to drive him out to the ambulance as Gary stopped them.

"Ssss-stop pwease-e!" He protested. The pure stress of the situation had made Gary so ill that it almost seemed like _he_ was the one who needed a hospital, and not Robbie.   
"I-I-I, I know-w him!" Gary complained. "D-don't take h-him away from meee!"

The medical staff frowned. The leader of the medical team walked up to Gary.   
In that very moment, Gary stumbled and lost his balance. Chief Dave grabbed him in the last moment before he hit the ground and held him upright.

"I'm terribly sorry that this is affecting you so much, Mr." He said. "However, you can be sure that we are doing our best to stabilise our patient and you can visit him at the hospital when he's better."

Gary attempted to break free of Chief Dave's grasp, but no such luck.   
When he realised that, he calmed down.   
"Look, sir, I just need to know that he'll be alright."

The medical chief of staff furrowed his eyebrows. "I'm sorry alright. But-"

Behind the three men, Robbie started to move his body and blubber in discomfort. Then he opened his eyes wide and stared into the ceiling.

The remaining three members of the medical staff yelped in surprise.   
"Boss! The patient has regained his consciousness!"   
Two of them proceeded to move the bed so their boss could see.

"What the heck!" The boss medic exclaimed.   
Robbie somehow managed to move his head over, until he was looking directly at Gary.

"Gawy. Gawy. I will bwe awwrigt." Robbie blubbered and blinked a couple of times before he shut his eyes again.   
The boss of the medical stall wasted no time as he ordered the other medics to get Robbie back in the ambulance.

"Don't worry, Mr. Barlow."  
Chief Dave looked at Gary. "I'll take you back to the police station, so we can have a good old cuppa. How does that sound?"

"I haven't had a drop of water in ages, so that would certainly be a good idea," Gary nodded.


End file.
